The void rippled as Nathan lifted his staff and pointed it toward Kael once again. His voice carried with the weight of command.
"Enough clumsy swinging. Today, you learn control. You've seen your blade, now you must move with it. Let's begin with a technique I call… Shadow Step."
Kael tilted his head. "Shadow Step? Does it mean I have to jump into shadows or something?"
Nathan's lips curved faintly, though it wasn't quite a smile. "No. The name is only mine, nothing more. It does not require shadows, nor darkness. It is about speed, precision, and intent. You will step beyond the limits of your body for a brief moment—slipping through space itself. Done properly, you will cover several feet in the blink of an eye."
Kael blinked. "Wait—you mean, teleport?"
"Not teleport. Step." Nathan's staff thudded against the ground. "One heartbeat of movement, no more. But in a fight, a single heartbeat is everything. Now—watch."
He moved.
Kael's eyes widened. One moment Nathan was before him, the next he was behind him. No blur. No sprint. Just gone, and then there.
The boy spun around. "That—that's impossible!"
"Impossible is only a word for those who've never seen power." Nathan gestured with his staff. "Again. Watch closely."
This time Kael tried to follow the movement. He narrowed his eyes, focusing not on Nathan's body but the strange pull in the air around him. There—just before Nathan vanished, Kael felt a flicker, like the snap of a whip.
"Did you feel it?" Nathan asked.
Kael nodded slowly. "It's like the air shivered."
"Good. Now try it."
Kael swallowed, gripping his dagger. He bent his knees, focused forward, and imagined himself stepping past the space between one breath and the next. He pushed—
And fell flat on his face.
The void itself seemed to mock him with its silence.
Nathan's dry chuckle echoed in his head. "Not even close. Again."
Kael groaned, rolling back to his feet. He tried again. And again. Sometimes he stumbled, sometimes he simply hopped forward like a fool, but each attempt grew sharper. Nathan's voice cut at him like a whip.
"Too slow."
"Too wide."
"You think, Kael. Stop thinking. Just move."
Hours blurred in the timeless void. Sweat plastered Kael's hair to his forehead, his muscles screaming with effort. At last—something shifted.
He pushed, heart hammering, and suddenly the world stretched and snapped. In the blink of an eye he was two steps to the right, his dagger raised.
Kael gasped, stumbling but catching himself. "I… I did it!"
Nathan's eyes glowed faintly. "Barely. But yes. That was the Step. Remember this feeling. You must own it until your body does it without your mind ever needing to command it."
Kael grinned despite his exhaustion. His legs trembled, but the rush of success burned hotter than the ache. For a moment, he felt powerful. For a moment, he wasn't a blank.
Nathan lowered his staff. "Enough for today. Tomorrow we refine it. But know this—Shadow Step is your foundation. Master it, and the battlefield will never pin you down."
The void dissolved into mist. Kael's eyes fluttered open and he was back in his academy bed, sheets twisted around him. His chest rose and fell heavily, as if he had truly spent hours moving, though not a second of daylight had passed yet.
A sharp knock jolted him.
"Kael?" Feyla's voice. She sounded almost impatient. "We've got class. Are you awake?"
Kael blinked, dragging a hand across his face. His body still hummed with the echo of the Step, the sensation of being somewhere he shouldn't have been. He almost laughed—if only Feyla knew what he had just been through.
"I'm awake," he muttered under his breath, though part of him wasn't sure if he was ready for either class… or more training.